What he saw and heard in the places governed by the Jiangnan Group made Wang Xijue realize that it was wrong to always yearn for the rule of the Three Dynasties and want to reverse history. Only a regime that is incapable of lifting the people out of poverty and can only rely on squeezing the people's fat and blood to maintain itself needs those five methods of controlling the people!

However, while impoverishing, exhausting, weakening, fooling, and humiliating the people, it is also weakening the country itself! Therefore, the country has neither the ability to expand its territory nor the motivation to improve people's livelihood, and can only wait to rot day by day.

Intellectuals all knew that it was wrong! Since the time of Wang Yangming, responsible scholars have realized that the Ming Dynasty was ill. They have been searching for the root cause and seeking ways to save the country. They hope to help the Ming Dynasty break out of the cycle of order and chaos.

But the failure of Juzheng's reforms thoroughly proved that the traditional Confucianism on the outside and the law on the inside could not save the Ming Dynasty. Because Zhang Jiangling had been the strongest in 500 years, it was impossible for the Ming Dynasty to have another prime minister stronger than Zhang Juzheng.

Although Wang Xijue was proud of his talent as a prime minister, he was also very clear that he was far inferior to Zhang Xianggong. So he believed that as a prime minister, he could only be a paperhanger at best, and it was impossible for him to find the answer for the Ming Dynasty.

When he was discouraged, he discovered the new world created by Jiangnan Group. Is this the correct answer to Daming's out-of-scope question?

Chef Wang, who was seriously lacking in scientific cells, looked up to the sky and shouted in the heavy snow - Oh my! This question is too difficult, I! Can't! Do it!

But he also knew with his simplest conscience that society should move forward and make people's lives better and better, and the people will naturally support you.

This is what a politician should pursue! Compared with the five methods of controlling the people, the difference is obvious!

But could the Jiangnan way of playing be transplanted to the imperial court? Wang Xijue thought it was impossible, because Zhang Juzheng's experience had proved that the civil service group would reject any changes that made them uncomfortable.

Unless the whole civil service is removed and replaced by a different organization and principles...

Isn’t that the cadre system of Jiangnan Group?

Wang Xijue completely understood what Zhao Hao was going to do. For the sake of the people and his family, he didn't want to stand up to the enemy; but as a disciple of the emperor and an official appointed by the court, he couldn't convince himself to follow them to overthrow the emperor.

So the chef chose to self-destruct to warn the emperor.

~~

The capital.

As soon as Wang Xijue's "Petition for Refusal to Speak out of Defiance" was published, it immediately caused a sensation in the city, and no private room could be booked in any of the top-grade restaurants in the city...

The officials clapped their hands in celebration, knowing that the outcome had been decided.

Why were those censors able to fight against the prime minister? They relied on the privileges granted to them by Taizu and the support of the emperor.

But whether it is the privilege of Taizu or the support of the current emperor, there is a prerequisite that they must stand firm in morality. To use morality to hurt others, one must first occupy the moral high ground. Therefore, the requirements for censors have always been that talent and political achievements are not important, the key is character and morality.

However, the teachers of Li Zhi and his friends were so ashamed of teaching them that they stayed indoors. This was like kicking them off the moral high ground. What good are they as censors then?

This wave of kills is truly jaw-dropping.

Li Zhi and his group of three were also drinking. Originally, they had invited many officials to come to his house to discuss the matter, but since they heard that Eunuch Zhang almost got the emperor fired, the censors no longer wanted to join them.

"A bunch of fence-sitters, idiots, and losers!" Li Zhi's curses penetrated the main hall and echoed in the courtyard: "We just encountered a small setback, and you are trying to avoid it? You are really a fool who is not worth consulting with!"

"Alas, this is no small setback..." Ding Qilu said as he drank one glass of wine after another, "Being squeezed so ruthlessly by the teacher, we have to resign."

"It doesn't matter. Will the emperor persuade me to stay?" Yang Keli said worriedly.

"I think so. We all listen to the emperor. Even when recommending ministers..." Li Zhi stroked his goatee and said, "If he doesn't protect us, who will work for the emperor in the future?"

"Don't be so confident. The emperor even wants to deal with his own master. How can he care about useless trash like us?" Ding Qilu was completely depressed.

"That proves that we are still useful to the emperor!" Li Zhi suddenly slammed the table, scaring Ding Cilu so much that he became alert.

"Cheer up, there is always a way out, it's not time to lie down yet!"

"Do you have any ideas or tricks?" Ding Qilu said with drunken eyes.

“No need…” Li Zhi shook his head and said slowly, “You may not know that the day before yesterday, Dayu Mountain reported that a stone was dug out of the emperor’s Shou Palace. Fearing that the throne would be placed on the stone, construction was forced to stop!”

"Oh, really?" Little Ding Ding and Little Lamb's expressions immediately brightened up.

Shou Palace is the mausoleum that the emperor built for himself during his lifetime. There is nothing strange about this, it is just following the precedent of our ancestors.

The imperial mausoleum is the representative of the country and the symbol of the country, so the site selection and construction of the imperial mausoleum are closely related to the safety, prosperity and decline of the country, and naturally the highest-level officials are responsible for it.

Now that the underground palace has been excavated to the rock layer, it means that there was something wrong with the original site selection. From the perspective of Feng Shui, it is extremely unlucky. The officials in charge of the site selection naturally have to apologize.

So who should be responsible for the overall project? The chief and deputy chief envoys of the project were Xu Wenbi, Duke of Dingguo, and Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Tutor. Xu Wenbi and other nobles were only in name only, and all the decisions must have been made by Zhang Juzheng!

"This must be the sinister plot of the Jing people! They are determined to destroy the destiny of our Ming Dynasty even in death!" Yang Keli bleated excitedly.

"He chose this piece of broken land to cause trouble for the emperor. He definitely has bad intentions and a very bad conscience!" Ding Qilu also felt that he was doing well again.

"What's even more interesting is that Zhao Shouzheng, who succeeded Zhang Juzheng, actually tried to conceal this matter!" Li Zhi smiled proudly, "Not only did he order the soldiers and civilians who built the Shou Palace to keep their mouths shut, he also forbade officials to discuss and report this matter."

"Then...how did you know?" Little Lamb and Little Ding Ding asked together.

"As for me, I naturally have my sources of information." Li Zhi pretended to be profound and said, "Anyway, this is true. The day before yesterday, I personally went to Dayu Mountain and found that construction there had indeed stopped! I also used my identity as an imperial censor to scare a few civilians and got their testimony that they had dug out rocks!"

As he said this, he handed several confessions with fingerprints on them to the two men.

"Great, really great! So damn rigorous!" Yang Keli and Ding Cilu took it and looked at it, and couldn't help but give a thumbs up:

"This is a two-pronged attack, an ultimate counterattack!"

"It's said that there is always a way out, right?" Li Zhi proudly took out the impeachment letter he had written, showed it to the two men and said, "Take a look at it, if there is no problem, then sign it."

"No problem! Another great article!" The two of them read it quickly, and used the pen and ink given by the servant to sign their own names next to Li Zhi's.

~~

The next day, the three submitted their resignations. They said they were no longer suitable to serve as censors, and submitted a joint memorial impeaching Zhang Juzheng for his evil intentions and obstruction in the selection of the emperor's longevity palace. After the incident, Zhao Shouzheng even issued a gag order to cover up for him, which was really deceiving the emperor!

Then I look forward to the situation turning around.

As soon as the impeachment letter was delivered, Zhao Shouzheng, who was playing chess with the writer at home, quickly got the news.

After listening to this, Prime Minister Zhao stroked his beard and couldn't close his mouth for a long time.

"Is my son cultivating immortality now?" After a while, he murmured, "Not only does he know how to transmit sound over a thousand miles, but he can also capture people's hearts?"

"What can he do?" Wu Cheng'en snorted, thinking, what's the point of transmitting sound over a thousand miles? The painter went to Jiangnan and still urged him to update his works every day...

"Oh yes, he has gone to Siam now. Did he ask the local wizard to cast a spell on those three people?" Zhao Shouzheng guessed again.

'Pfft...' Wu Chengen didn't spray a mouthful of tea on him, and smiled bitterly and said, "How is it possible?"

"Then why do these three of them make so many stupid moves and keep seeking their own deaths?" Zhao Shouzheng asked puzzledly.

"They are just three small characters eager to stand out. Your son doesn't even need to do anything himself. He can manipulate them with just a breath." Wu Chengen laughed and said, "I modified this version of Tathagata Buddha based on your son."

"My goodness, wasn't he a monkey originally? Now he becomes a villain." Zhao Shouzheng said in surprise.

"Who made him upgrade so quickly? He went from being the protagonist of the havoc in the sky to being the mastermind behind the scenes." Wu Chengen coughed and said, "And the Buddha is not a villain."

"Haha..." Zhao Shouzheng smiled knowingly and said, "Yes, yes, you didn't allude to Emperor Sejong either."

"Well, whatever. Anyway, I've written it down and let people judge for themselves." Wu Cheng'en sighed, but he was still in a good mood.

Because the writer said in the telegram that people in Jiangnan had already started printing and were preparing to publish the first volume of "Journey to the West", and the first print run would be an unprecedented 100,000 copies!

He thought his book could only be circulated as underground reading material forever...

It just makes me feel more justified to urge for more updates, damn.

~~

Just the next day, Emperor Wanli personally approved the impeachment memorials of Li Zhi and other two people, demonstrating a rare high efficiency.

But when they saw the impeachment certificate delivered by Zhang Cheng himself, the three of them were dumbfounded.

The emperor wrote in red: "Ministers assist in government affairs, how can they be asked to do geomancy?!"

He is the prime minister, not a Feng Shui master! Can you blame them for this? !

"This, this..." Li Zhi and the other two were stunned and asked stutteringly, "What's going on? Why is the emperor speaking for the people of Jing?"

"Hey, what can I say about you three?" Zhang Cheng looked at me like an idiot and said, "They say that Jinshi is the god of literature who has descended to earth. Did you three fall headfirst?"

"Ah?" The three were stunned before they realized that he was scolding them for having lost their brains.

"There are three more resignations. The emperor said that if you don't want to be censors anymore, he will promote you to the positions of Junior Minister of the Imperial Household, Junior Minister of the Imperial Household, and Junior Minister of the Royal Household. You three can divide them up. But there is one thing, remember, don't be so smart and don't do anything stupid!" After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he turned around and left.

"Please tell me clearly, where did we go wrong?" Ding Qilu grabbed him and said with bloodshot eyes.

Not to mention that this was a promotion in name only and a demotion in reality, transferring them away from the position of censors, what was even more terrifying was that the emperor's favor had disappeared.

They have already died socially in the officialdom. Without their status as censors and the emperor's protection, what awaits them will be a fall from grace and a broken drum beaten by everyone!

"Alas, you only know that Zhang Juzheng was the first construction envoy, but you don't know that the auspicious land was decided by the emperor." Zhang Cheng sighed and explained to the three poor guys:

"Do you understand now? You smart-aleck fool?!"

ps. It’s gone tonight.